The Journals of Glinda Upland
by ToastWeaselofDOOM
Summary: 25 years after the death of the Wicked Witch, a young Fliaan hunter stumbles upon a cabin on the edge of a lake. He finds inside two bodies and a writing desk full of handwritten journals. He starts to read the journals to identify the two bodies...and discovers a tale almost too extraordinary to believe. [Gelphie; Book/Musical/Headcanon; Character Death]
1. Journal 1

The journal entries begin 10 years after Elphaba's "death" and 15 years after she "defected" from Oz. The dates are based on the 1939 movie, so the date Glinda is writing from (1949) is ten years after Elphaba's death.

The story that is told is told from the POV of an OC, Teryn, and it begins 28 years after Elphaba's death, or 13 years after Glinda's journal entries begin. For those playing at home and doing math, Teryn is 13.

This is crossposted on ao3.

-/-

**Journal 1**

It had been long, hard hunting trip, full of narrowly missed shots and fires that would not start, and Teryn just wanted to return home. But the winter was coming, and if he returned home empty handed, his family would not eat for the next month.

He knew there was a lake nearby that was fed by snow melt and a few natural springs. Perhaps he could nab a deer who stopped to drink. He packed up his camp, took up his bow, and started his long hike down the mountain, following a happy burbling brook until he cleared the trees. He stuck to the tree line, an arrow nocked on his bowstring, watching the swaying poppies ahead of him for the telltale sign of deer.

Seeing nothing, he looked around, debating between climbing a tree and curling up to wait, or hiding in the poppies. Eventually the tree won out. He scrambled up it with all the dexterity of a Monkey, then settled down, a new arrow nocked. Teryn could see all the way across to the lake, and for a moment he watched the dying poppies sway in the breeze before turning to scan the area.

All of was quiet and normal—except for a box in the middle of the poppies. It was dark and square and Teryn was insanely curious as to what it was doing there. Was it a trap? Had he stumbled into the hunting grounds of someone else? What would you catch in such a box? It was too small for deer or bear…perhaps raccoon?

Despite his curiosity, the boy stuck to his tree. Hunting was more important. Nightfall was approaching and twilight was the best time to hunt deer. However, no deer came to the lake that night, much to Teryn's displeasure. He slept fitfully in the tree until dawn when he decided to cut his losses. He slid down the tree then, because the curiosity still burned inside him, went to go inspect the box.

He pushed through the poppies, their drying stalks crunching as he walked. Eventually he found the box, only to discover it was not really a box at all. It was an apiary.

The boy had seen them before—the beekeeper of his village had a cluster behind his home. But it was obvious this one was old and disused—the wood was weathered and gray, and some animal had broken into it, scattering the bees to the wind. A shame, Teryn would have loved some honey.

Curiosity mostly sated, the Fliaan started towards the other side of the poppy field. He had just begun to walk along the game trail that wound its way up the hill when he heard a growl. He froze, hand tightening on the grip of his bow, and looked toward where the growl had come from.

A huge black wolf was standing a bit up the path, hackles raised, staring at him with yellow eyes. Teryn held back a squeak of fear. He'd never been so close to a wolf before.

"H-Hello?" he called, hoping to the Unnamed God that he'd encountered a Wolf. "Are you a Wolf, or a wolf?"

The wolf—for it did not respond, so he figured it must be just a wolf and not a Wolf—stared at him for a long time. Then it slowly settled back on its haunches and turned, walking back up the path. Teryn watched as it walked to the top of the hill—barked—then continued over and out of sight.

The boy could not believe that had just happened. Cautiously (and probably with incredibly stupidity) he crept up after the wolf, hand still firmly on his bow with an arrow nocked. When he topped the crest of the hill—which he later realized was actually just a swale- he saw a small house nestled along the tree line.

The house must belong to the owner of the apiary! Teryn realized excitedly. He hurried across the flat area, past an abandoned stable and chicken coup, to the side door. It was wide open, and instantly the Fliaan realized something was wrong. Who left their door open like that?

"Hello?" he called then held his breath, waiting for someone to answer back. Nobody did. He tried again. "Hello? Anybody here? Excuse me?"

Again nobody answered.

With a sense of foreboding, Teryn pushed the door open a little farther with his foot. When nothing happened he cautiously entered the room on the other side. It was a small kitchen, with a door and ladder to a loft directly opposite him, a stove to his left, and wood cabinets and countertops to his right. It was neat and orderly, if a little dusty. Obviously it had not been used in some time.

The Fliaan saw there was a doorway to his right so he walked through it and into a front room—two chairs and a table sat by the front window, while two armchairs sat by the empty fireplace. The walls were lined with bookshelves, obviously hand hewn, one filled with books, the other candles and trinkets, and still others jars and bottles of Oz Knew What. Bundles of dried herbs hung from the ceiling, cloaks by the door, and an axe, shovel, and fishing equipment leaned in a corner.

It was a beautiful little sitting room, Teryn thought, but it still did not explain why the house was empty. Surely the owners of the house—for there must have been two, with such a set up—would not leave such a well-furnished house without locking it up.

There was a whine and Teryn looked to see the wolf sitting in the doorway he had just entered. The wolf looked almost sad, and when they made eye contact the wolf whined again.

"Why are you here?" Teryn asked the wolf. "Did you know the people who lived here?"

Another whine, and the wolf walked out of the doorway, towards the secondary side door. Teryn followed, and was amazed to catch a glimpse of the large, black wolf vanishing up the entryway into the loft.

"Am I supposed to follow you up there?" the boy asked, already putting his bow around his neck and climbing.

When his head cleared the port, he caught a glimpse of another bookshelf, a small writing desk, and several baskets, but his attention was immediately drawn to the bed—and the two skeletons that lay entangled there.

Instantly, Teryn felt bile rise in his throat and he had to look away.

The owners of the house were dead in their bed!

He began to back down from the ladder but was stopped by a sharp bark. Before he knew what was going on, the wolf had grabbed him by his tunic and tugged him fully into the loft. A whine, more tugging, and Teryn found himself at the edge of the bed.

The boy forced himself to look up at the bodies. They were both completely skeletonized, to his relief. They had obviously been dead for some time. Skeletons he could deal with—partially decomposed human bodies he could not. He respectfully inspected the two. They entangled in each other—one large one and one obviously much smaller one, half covered by dust-covered and moth-eaten sheets. They must have been lovers, for neither one wore clothing.

"Who are you?" Teryn asked the two skeletons, as if they could answer back. The last people he knew of living in this area had been mauled by a crazed bear before he had been born. These two could not possibly be the same, for they looked like they had both passed away in their sleep, rather than had their limbs ripped limb from limb.

He turned to the rest of the room for answers. The woven baskets held clothing—neatly folded (if dusty) cotton dresses in one, a mixture of dresses and mens work clothing in the other. Not much to say there, no names written inside, so he turned to the bookshelf. As he looked through the books he noticed the wolf had curled up on a flattened and derelict cushion of some kind beside the bed.

Who keeps a wolf as a pet?

While all the books on the shelf were interesting—spell books and herb books and books on healing and even a few on architecture—they held no names or marks of identification. Frustrated, Teryn turned to the writing desk.

It opened at his touch and revealed several pots of ink, pens, and a row of neat journals along the top. The leather of the journals was green and slightly faded, with dates written on paper and then posted along the spine. Teryn reached for the first one, dated almost thirty years prior, and opened it to the first page.

In curling script along the middle of the first page were the words _'This journal is property of Lady Glinda Upland._'


	2. Journal 2

_The leather of the journals was green and slightly faded, with dates written on paper and then posted along the spine. Teryn reached for the first one, dated almost thirty years prior, and opened it to the first page._

_In curling script along the middle of the first page were the words 'This journal is property of Lady Glinda Upland.'_

-/-

Teryn's head nearly leapt out of his chest. Lady Glinda Upland! The ex-leader of Oz who had vanished one night from the Emerald City Palace and had never been heard from again! He had learned about the incident in neighboring Oz during a history lesson when he was young. The disappearance had happened just after he had been born. Many had speculate she had been kidnaped or run away from her duties, butthe Ozian matriarch had never been found.

Shaking, Teryn looked over at the bed, then back at the journal in his hands. Was it Lady Upland who lay in that bed behind him?

He turned the page in the journal and saw more of the same flowing cursive that marked the journal as Lady Upland's. Curious he began to read.

-/-

**March 15, 1949**

I wish I could start a new journal with better news, but it seems I am cursed. The nightmares have, of course, continued. They always do around the Anniversary. And they are, of course, always worse. The pills can only do so much….I did not sleep last night.

To make matters worse, Quox is being difficult again. That is to be expected, I suppose, but it is driving me mad trying to negotiate with them for the release of the Vinkan hostages. They refuse to budge, wanting to know what Vinkan soldiers were doing in Quox before they offer any sort of deal. Honestly I would like to know why Vinkan warriors were doing so far from home, but the Vinkan's won't tell me, so I can't mediate very well either way. I still do not know how I ended up as the middleman but…it seems here I am.

I need some air. I need to find the time to get away to the soup kitchen, hopefully sooner rather than later.

-/-

**March 17, 1949**

It seems the soup kitchen must wait. The advisors want to begin planning a third Ozian Tour. As if I'm not dealing with the Qoux issue already. Oz is apparently getting restless from the tensions between Quox and the Vinkus—meaning that it is time for Glinda the Good to make her rounds, to calm the unwashed masses and bring hope.

Which means traveling by carriage for days at a time. I used to love to travel. Now it has just become a bore.

I must meet with Anita to begin discussing my wardrobe choices for the Tour, because what I wear in certain places has a placating (or incendiary) effect on the people who live there and see me. It all depends on what I wear, the cuts, the fabrics, the stylings.

If I had more time I would most like to study the effects of fashion on others—it is fascinating stuff. I'm sure Elphie would be appalled that I've undergone such mind deception, but I can't very well sit on a powder keg, can I? I've done what I could in Elphaba's name. I try to work in it every day…but sometimes, I can't both please my advisors and live in remembrance of Elphie.

Speaking of Elphaba, I've been a week without taking the hallucination potion and I'm pleased to report I've had no return of the images. But the nightmares….they are getting worse. The Anniversary is the day after tomorrow, so it's no wonder. I wonder if I'll be able to sleep tomorrow or the next night?

I plan to slip away to the soup kitchen then. The streets will be full of revelers, drunk as sin. Nobody will recognize me, especially if I don trousers, abstain from makeup, and hide my hair under a scarf.

It's amazing how easily you disappear when you remove from yourself your most distinguishing characteristics.

-/-

**March 18, 1949**

It's raining. I can hear it pitter pattering against my window. Technically it's the morning of the 19th, but I don't care. The nightmares woke me up, and then the rain kept me awake.

The rain reminds me of Elphaba. It was one of the only things that terrified her.

Maybe it brings me solace because it reminds me of when we curled up and bed and listened to the rain outside, but we were safe and warm and dry and did not know the world was actually an unfair miserable wretch of a place.

**March 19, 1949**

Elphaba is alive! I cannot believe it. I am not sure if I can put the night into words, because it was just that extraordinary. I'm full of so many emotions—happiness, anger, confusion, hurt, love…

Oz.

I went out after dark—midnight or so—to the soup kitchen. I wore my trousers and blouse, had my hair up, and my best worst cloak… it's no wonder she did not recognize me. Nobody else recognized me, but they were either too drunk or too drugged.

And then I rounded a corner and I quite literally bumped into her. I did not recognize her, either, not at first. Lots of people dress up and paint themselves green for the Anniversary—I thought she was just another reveler. But then she stepped in a puddle and swore quite extensively—and I heard her voice!

Then I thought she was a hallucination. Because they always look and sound just like her. But they never touch me…. I swore and screamed and told her to go away—as if that works for mirages—and I almost went straight home to take my pills.

But then Elphaba grabbed my arm. She grabbed my arm and asked me why the dignified leader of Oz was pretending to scream at walls. Asked me if it was for my amusement.

I watched her die. I saw Dorothy Gale throw a bucket of water on her and watched as her body melted away.

I think my heart stopped when she touched me. I'm fairly certain I stood and gaped at her like one of those fish in the pond. She was there in front of me. Her clothes were fraying and torn and falling apart, her cloak was so thin it was practically nonexistent, she was gaunt and pale and weather beaten, her lips were chapped, her hair knotted, and when she spoke her voice cracked as if it had been unused for a very long time….

But it was her. Still taller than necessary, still with those beautiful brown eyes, and still green as sin.

My Elphie. My Elphaba Thropp. Alive.

So much happened after that.

I got angry. I screamed at her. I said horrible things. All the emotions from ten years just spilled out….I ranted and raved and swore and I slapped her. (My hand still hurts.) And we shouted at each other, and I shoved her some and then…then I cried. And she held me (awkwardly) and nuzzled my head (also somewhat awkwardly—no doubt used to my curls) and the whole time she was apologizing...

She left me. By myself. To rule Oz and think she was dead and pick up her mess. I'm still beside myself at that. I'm more hurt than words can possibly describe. How could she do that to me? How could she think that any amount of apology could make up for ten years of potions and pills and hysteria treatments and… well, ten years of hell?

Elphaba and I talked…we went to the soup kitchen and I got us food (she needs a week or three of solid meals—she's skin and bones) and then we went to the Animal shelter I knew would be safe and we talked.

We talked about so many things… We talked and we fought…

Fiyero is also alive, apparently. He spirited Elphaba away from that wretched tower and helped her heal her wounds. I got so angry about that. I had thought the Gale Force had murdered him, too…

Elphaba had to relearn how to walk, to speak, to dress… Fiyero helped with that, I'm sure… but after she had healed she left him… Oz knows where Fiyero is now. I'll have to look into it discreetly.

Elphie traveled the world after that, a specter among the living, until she returned to Oz two years ago…and she wandered into the Emerald City. She had no idea what day it was until she heard my speech broadcast over a communal radio.

She told me all of this, and it was practically light by the time she had finished. I had to go before the change of the guard…it was the hardest thing I have ever done. Knowing Elphaba, she won't be there tomorrow. I told her to stay put, so I can find her tomorrow, so I can bring her supplies…I hope she listened.

When I left she kissed me goodbye…I'd forgotten how wonderful it was to kiss her. I'm not ashamed to admit I kissed her back.

I've missed her so. And as angry as I am that she left me….I'm so very thankful she made her way back to me in the end.

I've got to go—it is almost time for me to be woken properly. I haven't slept, but I will have to soldier through the day. And then I need to go out and fetch supplies for Elphaba. She can't stay in the city, not for very long.

Imagine if word got out that she had survived after all… this time, she might not survive the witch hunt that comes for her.

Supply list for Elphaba:

· Find the Grimmerie ?

· Find her broom ?

· A new dress (black)

· New cloak (black)

· New boots (10 - black)

· Gloves, leather and cloth (black)

· Pants (black)

· Medical salves &amp; supplies

· Money

· Food

· A bag to put it all in (black)


	3. Journal 3

**March 20, 1949**

She was right where I left her yesterday, thank Oz. She seemed so paranoid that night, I did not think she would stay in that rented room. But she did; I found her there in the room after I slipped out earlier tonight.

The only thing I could not find was her broom. I looked high and low for it, but it was not (to my knowledge) in any of the storage rooms. I did find the Grimmerie though—tucked away back in the Library. I'm not certain how it got there—perhaps Dorothy put it there, I remember she had it when she came back—but I put that in the bag.

Elphaba did not seem to care for much of the things I brought her—but oh, that book. It was a struggle to get her to change because all she wanted to do was pour over its pages again. I'm glad it is good in somebody's possession—Oz knows I was never able to read it.

I put her in those new clothes, and made her eat, and then I was all set for a tearful goodbye and to never see her again—because it is not safe here in the city for it, it never will be—when she kissed me. She grabbed me and kissed me so hungrily that for a moment I did not think it was the same woman.

It has been so long since I was kissed like that.

And then she pulled me onto the bed and one thing led to another and… we made love.

It was awkward at first. We've both changed so much since our little escapades between the sheets at Shiz. But she was as gentle and as careful as she was at Shiz, and she remembered everything that drives me wild. I had to cover my mouth when I came, otherwise I would have alerted the whole shelter to our activities.

And she still loves her neck bitten, her button lip tugged, her nipples sucked. She still shudders silently and bites her lip when she peaks, still whimpers when she's teased. She's still my Elphie.

-/-

** March 21, 1949**

The Ozdamn Gale Force would be running night trials tonight. I don't dare go see Elphe tonight.

I hope she's there tomorrow…

**March 27, 1949**

I'm currently among the clouds, Elphaba is lying with her head in my lap with a bullet in her side, and we're somewhere over Fliaan. So much has happened in the past few days.

On March 22st, I returned to the shelter with more supplies; a comb, some oils, warm socks, twine, a whetstone for Elphaba's knife, a sewing kit, more money, and more food.

I found Elphaba antsy to go. She'd spent too much time in one place, she said. I wanted her to stay…and after a night spent together in that small room (with everything that entails) I somehow found myself agreeing to let her follow me home to the palace.

We made it to my rooms safely, and we spent three days together. In that space of time, we fought several times—first about the true identity of her father, when she saw the green bottle the Wizard gave me alongside hers. After that I was cruel about my years of pills and potions, and she lost her temper at me.

We spent a few hours after that trying to piece ourselves back together… And then, after she had made love to me (because she's always been better with actions, then words), she gave me her mother's ring and asked me to run away with her.

It took time to convince me—I was reluctant to leave Oz, but eventually she managed. How could I ever say no to her? We spent the second day planning—what we'd need, where we'd go, how I would disguise my flight…

Then on the third day I went to tell my advisors of my impending retirement… Elphaba snuck out of my rooms to try to find her broom. She found her broom, but on her way back she encountered a guard…and she had to kill him.

We knew then we had to flee. I packed my simplest dresses and undergarments (and all of my pants), a few scarves to wrap my hair in, money, some food, the bottles, my expensive jewelry, an inkwell and pen, and two journals. I couldn't take them all—there are almost twenty—but I brought the journal I kept in Shiz and this one. I don't need to remember the horrible years I spent without Elphaba…

We dressed in our warmest, most practical (I had more choices then Elphie did) and took off into the night on her broom. It was so very cold and I spent a majority of the flight cuddled against her for warmth. She might be a stick, but she has always been a space heater.

We flew all night, eventually sleeping in the forest, cuddled at the base of a tree. I can't say that tree sleeping agrees with me, but it was only one night. The next night, we stopped in Frottica…and I saw my mother. I tried to lie to her about why I was leaving, but mothers always know.

Elphaba came in and my momsie was angry but…it worked out, I suppose. She blessed Elphaba and I, and she gave me the family heirlooms…and after I fetched a couple of things, Elphaba had to wipe Momsie's memory…

Leaving her was the worst thing I've had to do.

We flew all night, and at Fliaan border, the Gale Force was stationed…and as we tried to cross, Elphie was shot. Everything was covered in blood…I got us out, but I haven't been able to do anything besides try to ease the pain…

We'll be at our new home soon…or so Elphaba says… She's asleep, which is why I'm taking the time to write this. When we get there we'll have to do something about the bullet in her side, and then…we'll start making our life.

Thank Oz I packed medical supplies.


	4. Journal 4

**March 28, 1949**

We got the bullet out.

We landed yesterday at our new home. It's a two room cottage…house…thing. It was abandoned a long time ago, or so Elphaba says. She found it last year and stayed there for a while. There's not much-a couple of thin blankets, an old bed frame and empty mattress sack, a bucket, some fishing gear, some gardening and wood tools…that's about it. Thankfully there is a fireplace and a source of water nearby. We've got a well on the west side of the house and a very pretty lake is down the hill on the east. There's a very pretty field surrounding the lake. It is early spring so not much has grown into something recognizable yet. I hope it's full of wildflowers.

It's very beautiful and I already love it and look forward to living here a long time…so long as Elphaba does not exsanguinate or die of infection on me, first….

Which reminds me. The bullet.

She got it out, after we boiled her knife to disinfect it. She dug it out of her own side but fainted after, so I had to stitch it up. That was horrible. I don't think I could do it for anybody else but Elphie. I used my magic to relieve the pain as best as I could. I stripped and boiled for bandages the threadbare curtains that were here. They are currently hanging on the dilapidated line that's connected to the well.

It is currently morning. We slept on the ground on one of the blankets, used one to cover ourselves, and the one full of holes we rolled up and used as a pillow. It will have to do until Elphaba heals enough to get the matressed stuffed with dry grass and hay.

I have to change Elphie's bandages when she wakes. She's currently conked out—I might have used a bit of magic to help that. She's so stubborn, she would probably try to get to work as soon as she can, which would undoubtedly pull the stitches. I love her, but if she pulls a stitch I might have to kill her.

**March 29, 1949**

Elphaba has grey hairs. I noticed it a while ago, when we first bumped into each other, but with everything going on and then fleeing from Oz, this is the first time I have been able to really write about it.

I don't have grey, but she does…. the stress of her life on the run, I suppose. I think they suit her. She talked—still talks—like a wizened philosopher in Shiz, but now that she has grey hairs, I think it helps her fit the part.

They are most visible in the light. I helped her move outside and she's sitting on a blanket in the grass, stretched like a cat in a sun beam. I'm surprised she's not completely naked—but then it is a bit too cold for that.

But her hair. It's always been black, but when the sun is on it her hairs looks more brown. The grey bits glisten like silver. And since we've been together and I got her the necessary supplies she has been starting to take care of it. Soon, I'm sure, it will shine like it used to. Right now it's out, because I just helped her brush it (she can't reach back, poor thing, with her side the way it is) and she did not want me to brush it quite yet.

She's antsy to get to work on the house. She wants to extend the fireplace chimney and build a loft so we don't have to sleep in the main roof. I've refused to let her until she heals. We can sleep downstairs as long as necessary.

….

Elphie asked me what I was writing about this morning and I told her….she told me to stop writing about her grey hairs. I'm writing this just to spite her!

**March 30, 1949**

In my boredom I searched through the cabinets in the side room, which has an old wood stove and a counter, and I found some plant seeds. There are planters on the side of the house will the well, so we decided to start a garden. We've no idea how old the seeds are so we're soaking them and I've been working on weeding the garden. We'll plant in the next couple of days.

Elphaba is practically losing her mind without anything to do. Thankfully there is the Grimmerie to keep her occupied—she even found a slicing charm! We used it to cut the grass! Now the grass is drying so we can use it in a few days to stuff the mattress skin. Sleeping on the floor is getting old.

I'm also starting a list for town. We're going to have to go and get supplies eventually. I'm already very tired of eating bread, cheese, and nuts.


	5. Journal 5

**April 2, 1949**

We stuffed the mattress with grass today. Elphaba said it will be awhile until she finishes up with the loft, so we might as well sleep on something more comfortable. We set up a sort of assembly line. I carted the grass in, she stuffed. We finished before noon then had nuts for lunch. We're out of bread.

I made the bed. We still don't have pillows, but after we eventually go to town (which we really have to do soon!) we'll buy some flour so we can make bread ourselves and we'll make pillows from the sacks.

At least until we can figure out a way to make money so we can buy some nicer fabric.

**April 4, 1949**

Elphaba officially couldn't stand it any longer. This morning she bandaged up her side tight, pulled on the shirt and trousers and took the pickaxe and went looking for rocks. She's been floating them back with magic about once an hour. They are all about the size of my head. After she has enough she says she's going to need my help to go wade along the lake edge and help her collect sand and clay so we can mix a mortar.

She's been planning on extending the fireplace and then building the loft around that. Two days ago she took a stick of charcoal from the fireplace and doodled a little floor and a half plan with rough measurements and such right on the wall! I got angry at her, but she promised to clean it off and whitewash it when she's done.

Meanwhile, we've gotten a lot done. Or mostly I have. I finished weeding the garden and with a bit of guidance from Elphaba I used the pickaxe (for the first time!) and turned the soil, then planted lots of rows of the seeds we rejuvenated. Some of them were even starting to spout when we planted them!

I water them every day from the well. Soon we'll have an entire bed of corn, and lettuce and tomatoes and squash! I'm so excited!

**April 5, 1949**

Elphaba brought home two chickens and a goat this afternoon. I've got no clue where she got them from, but consider they aren't looking the best, I bet she stole them from someone who was not treating them well. I can't say I'm _happy_ that she's stealing things but I suppose they are better with us then with someone who is not taking care of them.

We put them out in a bubble on the lawn and the goat is practically mowing the grass down and the chickens are scratching and rolling in the dust and catching bugs. I'm glad to see they are happy.

Elphaba took a break from finding rocks and instead built a pen to the side of the house for the chickens and goats. She nestled it against the abandoned stable—the stable she still has to fix up so we can get a horse.

She's really handy with her hands—she cut down a couple of trees with the axe and set about notching and stacking them. She cut more notches in the top layer, cut down a bunch of saplings and made a lean-to roof. She was done before dark! She says in a few days when she is done with the chimney she is going to weave some grass into the sapling lean-to roof so it's waterproof.

I wonder where she learned all this stuff. From her time on the run maybe? Did she make shelters for herself? I would ask, but getting her past out of her is hard.

Town List:

· flour

· bread

· nuts

· a knife for me

· a shovel (?)

· soap

· jars for canning (?)

· salt

· other bread supplies

· cloth for new curtains (?)

Elphaba needs:

· nails

· a hammer


	6. Journal 6

**April 7, 1949**

We still have yet to go to town.

We're almost out of food and Elphaba is in the middle of the fireplace extension so we can't go yet. However, since we have fishing gear from the previous owners, before she continued on today Elphaba taught me how to fish. She taught me how to go to the banks of the lake and pound the ground for worms, how to get one and put it on the hook, how to catch a fish….even how to kill and gut it.

She looked quite ill when we had to kill and gut it but in true Elphaba style she grit her teeth and showed me. Afterwards when I went to cook it she disappeared for several hours. She hates killing things. I feel so bad for being so clueless and having to have her teach me things she hates to do. I watched every single thing she did and copied it on my fish and I think I've got it down. Hopefully she won't have to explain anything else to me and I'll be responsible for the fish from now on.

She reappeared around noon, after I had eaten the fish and washed the pan. We got an egg from the chickens the other day so she ate that and drank some milk from the goat (I'm so glad we have something she can drink!) and then she went to work on the fireplace.

The fish was so good, especially after weeks of just staling bread, hardening cheese, and nuts. I feel bad but…I need to eat, too.

**April 8, 1949**

We finally went into town! We flew the fifteen miles and got off right outside of town and walked in the rest of the way. We got a lot of funny looks when we walked into town without a horse or a carriage but with my hair tied up and Elphaba's hood on tight nobody recognized us. We lied and said we were closer than we were and the walk wasn't a big deal.

I'm so glad I filched as much money as possible before we left. The Fliaans accepted the green pennies with only slightly confused questions. We told a half truth and just said we had moved recently and had yet had time to change money because we've been setting up the homestead. It's true, isn't it?

Anyway, we split up the list and went to get our stuff. And we did! We got all the things on the list, plus Elphaba bought a few apples and peaches. She didn't tell me earlier, but after she eats the fruit she is planning to start to grow fruit trees! Of course, they won't start to have fruit for a long time but it will still be fun!

We got all the stuff out of town by carrying it and once we were out of eyeshot Elphaba summoned her broom and we levitated everything and flew home. All the magic use tired me out, so after we got everything inside and unpacked, I took a nap. Magic takes a lot out of you, and I haven't had a lot of food recently. Hopefully with all this stuff we don't have to go back to town for a while!

Elphaba finished the fireplace chimney and tomorrow she's going to start cutting down trees and will be starting to build up the loft! I'm so excited to have a bedroom again!

**April 9, 1949**

The flowers in the fields are poppies! I went down to fish this morning and I could see some starting to bloom.

Elphaba is going to be so excited—she loves poppies!

**April 10, 1949**

Elphaba has been notching, levitating, and stacking logs all day. She says she is almost done with the walls and she is going to need my help with the outside walls while she works on paneling the inside walls. She is going to be exhausted tonight after using all that magic and physical exertion.

But soon she'll be working on the roof which means we can set up the bed stand soon! No more sleeping on a straw mattress on the floor!


	7. Journal 7

**April 11, 1949**

When Elphaba said she needed help with the outside walls, I did not realize she meant with mud. I helped her mix mortar each morning while she was working on the fireplace, but now she wants me to work on the cracks in the cabin. This means taking dried grass, slathering it with mud, rolling it up, stuffing it in the cracks of the logs, then slathering it with a thick layer of clay. She says this keeps the cold drafty air (and rain) out.

So that is what I've been doing all day. My hands are rubbed raw from the grass and the sand in the mud and clay, but I finished all of the cracks—on the new addition and everything on the bottom, too. It's done!

Elphaba is finishing up the roof—it is made of logs cut in half and fit into notches on the top beam and the bottom one. She says it should be waterproof—which is important for us, considering her reality. I suppose we'll find out the first time it rains...

**April 12, 1949**

Today is a great day! Not only is the roof done, but I made bread and the garden is spouting-everything is up! I can't wait for it to be actual plants we can eat!

Elphaba finished the roof around noon. The loft it so gorgeous and smells amazing! It's a bit dark right now but Elphie promises after everything settles down here she is going to get glass and cut out spaces for windows. We moved the mattress up and Elphaba fixed the bed frame—it was a bit broken—and then we moved that up and together we set up the bed!

Maybe tonight we'll make love…

I have to make a bunch of bread before the flour sack is going to be empty, but soon we'll have actual pillows. And I've never made a quilt, but maybe I should start for the colder months? Also now that we're out of out the downstairs, I feel like we should have more clothes and some place to store them.

Guess that's more stuff for the next trip to town…for now, though, we'll continue to use the hole-y blanket as a pillow.

**April 15, 1949**

Elphaba came home with a wolf puppy. She was out in the forest collecting wild herbs, mushrooms, and kindling for the fireplace and she swears he started following her. I don't think she's the type of person to puppy-nap a wolf's puppy but…it seems weird.

Anyway, she brought him home after he followed her all around the forest. He's fuzzy and coal black. Elphaba says he's about six weeks old. She wants to keep him—she already named him, too. Killyjoy.

I worry he is going to attack the chickens or the goat when he gets older, but she is promising to train him. She said she had a wolf when she was on the run before she 'died' and knows how to do it…

We'll see.

**April 16, 1949**

We woke up this morning with the puppy curled by our feet. He likes fish and eggs and Elphaba braided the old curtain scraps to make a tug toy. She spent the better part of the morning horsing around with that puppy-she even had me get in on the act. He's very strong for such a little thing.

Elphaba seems to be letting loose a bit. She's always loved animals more than she liked people, so that might be some of it. I think she might be starting to feel safe for the first time in almost twenty years.


	8. Journal 8

**April 18****th****, 1949**

I made a fish drying stand. It's like a trellis but with legs for extra support. I make it out of some of the branches Elphaba cut off when she felled trees for the roof and loft. It's leaning against the house. I remove the fish bones, split the fish most of the way, and hang them on the stand on the west side of the house by the well. Keeping Killyjoy out of the fish does not seem to be a problem—he's more interested in chasing butterflies and sticks than he is with the fish.

(I think Elphaba's proud of me for making something myself.)

**April 20, 1949**

Elphaba disappeared last night; she'd gotten me thoroughly exhausted (she made me peak four times! Four!) and after I fell dead asleep. I woke up and she was gone.

Killyjoy was whining at the opening to the loft—he can't get down the ladder. He's become connected to Elphaba at the hip (I think he thinks that she is his mommy) so that's how I knew she had gone somewhere. I looked everywhere for her around the property but her broom was gone so I knew she had gone somewhere.

I sat up by the fire and waited for her—she came back just before dawn with an emaciated horse.

I asked her why she had left and brought back a horse and she said she needed some air so she went for a flight…and she saw the horse. So she stole him away—with his supplies by the looks of it—and walked with him back to the house.

The horse—I named him Ewan—is grazing in the field with the chickens and the goat. Elphaba is taking a nap and is then going to fix up the stable. I'm going to take Killyjoy and go fishing. Ephaba wants to leave soon for Quadling Country to order glass for our windows, and she wants me to be fully stocked with food/ingredients before she leaves. Thank goodness I have the drying rack!

**April 22, 1949**

Elphaba fixed up the stable and now Ewan is there at night. He seems very happy here. I'm glad.

We've got one more trip to town before Elphaba leaves for Quadling Country. This is our list:

· New work shirt and pants for both Elphaba and I

· Rope

· A clothing basket

· Ink pot

· New journal for when I finish this one

· Cloth for tablecloth

· Embroidery thread for curtains / tablecoth

**April 23,****, ****1949**

We went to town and got the supplies. Elphaba is making an apiary so the bees that pollinate the poppy field (and our garden!) stick around—personally I think she wants honey. She always loved honey in Shiz. If she finished the apiary tomorrow the bees should hopefully start colonizing it and will build their hive by the time she gets back.

**April 26, 1949**

Elphaba taught me how to make goat cheese today! It was lots of fun and it tastes good—better than the stuff I had in the Emerald City. We keep it in the pantry, in jars that we keep cool with ice charms. It takes a long time to make, honestly, but it tastes so good that I am not at all adverse to being the one who makes it most of the time.

We really need a root cellar but that is a project Elphaba said she'd work on when she gets back. She'd better hurry…we've got bundles of plants drying from the beams in the main room for Oz's sake!

**April 28, 1949**

Elphaba left for Quadling Country. She doesn't think she'll be back until late May or early June. She has to be extremely careful with when she flies and where—if she's discovered she might be killed.

It's almost ironic we've been here together a month and now she's leaving. I simply can't believe I'm not going to see her for an entire month. I've gotten so used to having her with me, sleeping together and working together and listening to her stupid (charming) quips, that if anything is going to kill me, this is it.

It's nighttime now. We made love all morning and early afternoon—napped until late, and then had dinner. Elphaba left after sunset.

I sent her off with a loaf of bread, five hardboiled eggs, and a jar of the goat cheese. She can take care of herself, but I still worry. I always worry.

Come home soon, Elphaba.


	9. Journal 9

**April 29, 1949**

Day 1 without Elphaba.

I spent the day starting to make trellises for the cucumbers. They are really getting big! I got about half of them done. I'll finish the rest tomorrow.

The squash are already flowering, and the tomatoes are growing inches a day! I'm going to have to make stakes for them when I finish the cucumber trellises.

**April 30, 1949**

Day 2 without Elphaba.

Last day of April and the cucumbers are all trellised! I also got some sticks and fashioned stakes for the tomatoes.

I'm trying to teach Killyjoy how to play fetch…

**May 1, 1949**

Day 3….

I took a bath for the first time in a while. The lake is starting to warm up so it isn't frigid at bath time. I use sand to exfoliate my body, then a teeny tiny sliver of soap to wash up. I used to have all sorts of oils and lotions and bathing tinctures back at the palace, so it's nice to wash myself so simply.

(In the absence of Elphaba, Killyjoy has started to follow me around. He tried to follow me into the water but discovered that cold water and puppies don't mix!)

**May 2, 1949**

I planted the tree sproutlings today. They aren't very big, but they are in a good sunny spot and will get lots of air, sun, and water. It will be another few years until we have fruit, but I can hardly wait until we do!

I also began embroidering the curtains. Flowers for now, along the bottom. I wonder if Elphaba will like it.

**May 3, 1949**

There is so little for me to do… I don't know how to whitewash and it would be pointless for me to decorate the house if it will need to be taken down again just to be whitewashed. I did wash off Elphaba's loft sketch, though. And I scrubbed the rest of the walls. Just with water (and Ewan's bristle brush…), but they already look very nice. I might try to do the cabinets and the wooden counter in the kitchen, along with all the floors and the stove.

It is something to do if nothing else.

**May 4, 1949**

Elphaba never got around to weaving a roof for the chicken and goat lean-to, and since I've got very little to do, I thought I'd try my hand at it. I've spent all day in the field trying to teach myself how to weave. It took me most of the morning to get the hang of it.

I remember at Shiz when Elphaba was bored and we were outside she would weave grass and flower crowns. I got them most of the time…sometimes Crope or Tibbet insisted she make them some, too. Or they would steal mine. She would get so grumpy.

I miss her so…

**May 5, 1949**

I got the weaving finished and half-draped, half-tied the grass blanket I made over the lean-to. Hopefully it helps. It actually does look like it might rain. Perhaps I should bring Ewan in…

…

It did start the rain. Thank goodness the roof is as waterproof as Elphaba promised! Killyjoy and I cooked a fish and then played tug of war with the ex-curtain. He is getting bigger and stronger—he almost pulled me over!

**May 7, 1949**

I've been sleeping a lot. There is not much to do besides embroider and take care of the animals, garden, and house. Killyjoy is a great snuggler. He's a good helper, too. We weed and water the garden and go fishing together. He likes to jump on them in the shallows. We also take walks around the lake.

I wonder if I should start cutting and drying grass for hay? I've no idea when winter starts here in Fliaan, but the stable was meant for two horses so the other bay is empty save for Ewan's tack. We could use it to store hay.

I'll wait until Elphaba comes back to make that decision, I think…

**May 8, 1949**

Today I designed what I wanted my root cellar to look like. Hopefully Elphaba likes it. I'll show it to her when she gets home.

**May 10, 1949**

I've been making little furniture. Fairy furniture, I suppose. I've been crafting it out of sticks and bark and leaves. It's quite fun. I do it in the afternoon after the morning chores and breakfast are done.

Apparently the plants really love my dish water. They are so much taller!

**May 11, 1949**

Elphaba needs to teach me how to season. Plain fish and eggs for several weeks is getting old.

Killyjoy doesn't seem to mind though. He almost caught a bunny the other day, but it was too quick for him…which might be a good thing, considering I have no idea how to dress a rabbit.

**May 12, 1949**

Trying to train Killyjoy. He has figured out how to climb up the ladder, and that if he wants to go to the bathroom he just has to scratch at the door. I am now trying to teach him sit, stay, and come. Dried fish chunks are very good motivators…

**May 15, 1949**

I harvested the first round of lettuce today! I had a salad for dinner, with goat cheese and eggs and a bit of toasted bread. It was SO GOOD! To think all of my work has resulted in an amazing fresh crunchy salad.

The cucumbers are flowering and the tomatoes look like they are going to flower soon, too… I can't wait to have those in my salads, too!

**May 16, 1949**

I finished up embroidering the tablecloth—I'm never letting Elphaba pick out cloth color again. I love her very much but she has the worst sense of color I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. She did try, though—the cloth is pink, but it's not a very nice pink. It's like someone tried to pep up pastel and missed the mark terribly. It was hard to embroider and have it look nice, but I managed. Elphaba probably won't care what it looks like. Naturally.

**May 18, 1949**

The goat has been producing more milk thank I can drink, so I've been turning it into cheese...so of course now there is more cheese than I can eat. So as not to waste it, I saddled up Ewan, tied Killyjoy's lead rope to the saddle, and the three of us rode into town today to sell the excess.

I got about 40 Fliaan grouts (10 per jar), or about 30 green pennies. It was enough for me to buy a snack, so I did. I bought some hay for Ewan and a meat pastry for myself (I shared a bit with Killyjoy). It was rather very good—the meat pastry, not the hay.

It has been a while since I've had any meat besides fish, and the fish I've had has mostly been unseasoned. It's what you get when you have a vegetarian for a wife. The meat pastry was flakey, and the meat inside was crumbly and seasoned with something spicy. I wonder what the spice is—it would probably make my fish taste good!

I might have to get another meat pastry the next time I come to town—if only to ask the baker what the spice(s) in it are!

**May 20, 1949**

It's nearing the end of May. Elphaba should be back any day now! I miss her very much.

**May 22, 1949**

I finished up with one of the flower sacks today, so I washed and dried it, stuffed it full of straw, and sewed it shut. Now I have a pillow and not a rolled up blanket! Tomorrow I will ride Ewan into town and see if I can trade some of the dried fish I have for cloth so I can make a pillowcase, as the fabric of the flower sack is a bit scratchy.

**May 23, 1949**

I got a nice simple length cotton to make the pillowcase with. When I'm finished I might embroider the edges.

I was able to harvest another round of lettuce and had another salad for dinner. I think the cucumbers will be ready soon!

**May 25, 1949**

I finished the pillowcase today—I have forgotten what an arduous task it is to hand-sew such things. Embroidery is one thing—trade sewing is another! Killyjoy is enjoying playing with the scraps of fabric. Silly wolf.

**May 28, 1949**

Finished the embroidery on the pillowcase. Pink flowers and little green stems.

**June 1, 1949**

Elphaba came home last night!

I was already asleep when Killyjoy went insane. He was barking and for the first time managed to get down the ladder mostly by himself. I followed him and I got downstairs just in time for Elphaba to open the front door.

She gave me quite a fright at first. I thought she might have been a burglar!

She was tired after over a month of traveling, and it was the wee hours of the morning, but she kissed me almost as soon as I reached her. Her lips were chapped but Oz it was amazing it feel her lips on mine after such a long time. I think I all but melted against her.

The windows are ordered, now, and will arrive in another couple of months.

She also brought home a few things. A dilapidated chicken she discovered (and subsequently liberated) when flying back. Now we have three.

She also brought back a pretty green-blue glass disc that hangs from the ceiling from a wire and shines when light hits it… she mumbled something about her childhood. I haven't heard that story, I will have to ferret it out of her eventually.

And…she also came home with a pleasuring wand. I about blushed scarlet when I realized what it was. I never thought Elphaba would buy something like that. She never ceases to amaze me.

It's blown glass, about ¾ of a foot long, three fingers thick at one end and one and a half at the other—it tapers you see—and has lots of interesting textures. I'm certain we'll have interesting experiments with it.

We didn't that night, however. Elphaba was too tired. We went to bed—after a month of sleeping alone feeling her pressed against my back, her arm curled around my waist and her nose in my hair…it was the most amazing thing. I feel so safe with her. So safe, so warm.

I love her so much. I'm so glad she came back to me.


	10. Journal 10

**June 2, 1949**

We feasted tonight in celebration—well, what can be considered a feast for us. Elphaba never really ate breakfast, and we lay in bed and cuddled (and made love) well past lunch time. Finally when we got up (I think it was about two or three in the afternoon) Elphaba went out to let the animals out, burn some energy off Killyjoy, and check on her bees.

While she was out I put together a salad for lunch/dinner-a real, proper salad.

I got lettuce from the garden, and one of the cucumbers was ready according to her so I peeled and sliced that. I toasted some bread in salt and pepper for croutons, and put fish on mine and goat cheese on hers. While Elphaba was out she found a bunch of dandelions—she brewed some of the leaves to make tea (imagine—dandelion tea!) and added the rest of the greens to her salad.

I asked her what she did with the flowers and—bless her—she shyly offered up a little bracelet she had obviously woven after picking. I could not help but throw my arms around her and kiss her—which startled her at first but she seemed content to oblige.

(Incidentally, the dandelion tea is something I do not really like. It's too bitter for my taste…it's no wonder Elphaba loves it. I'll stick with milk. But I do wonder if I can dry the leaves and save them like actual tea for the winter so Elphaba can have her drink all year 'round?)

**June 3, 1949**

Elphaba told me last night, after she finished making exquisite and amazing love to me (for the second time in a day!), that apparently in Oz there is a belief that kisses from Glinda the Good bring good luck. She got the look she used to get when she was about to wax philosophical—and then asked me what having sex with Glinda the Good brought?

The cheek!

(I told her it brings a smack in the face. She pouted.)

…

Elphaba did not take care of her hair while she was gone and it is now a tangled mess. After chores I sat her down at the table and picked out her hair. She was grumpy about it but let me do so—and it was not as bad as when I spent nearly the entire night on it at the inn. After I finished I rebraided her hair and then we had lunch. Elphie grumbled that her skull ached.

**June 5, 1949**

Elphaba let me play with her hair tonight, like back at Shiz….even though it was less playing and more combing it and braiding it for her.

It's how we got close at Shiz… I would comb and brush and braid her hair and she would read or review her notes. When I was through she would get up and change into her nightdress. I almost never got to help her in the morning (I was too busy readying myself) or after class when she cleaned herself with oil and spent an hour brushing talc from her hair (that was Elphaba's alone time). But her nights were mine, after she had finished washing and brushing, I was allowed to style and comb and braid to my heart's content, so long as her hair was fashioned back into that long single braid when I was finished.

She still likes it when wrap my arms around her from behind and kiss the top of her spine after I'm done.

I've missed this. I'm so glad we found each other. I'm so glad we ran away together.

-/-

The journal stopped there. Lady Glinda had run out of room.

Teryn looked up, carefully closing the journal. Sunlight was streaming in the windows; it was midday. He looked over at the skeletons in the bed, fingers tightening around the dusty leather cover of the journal.

He was in possession of information that would change history. Him, a thirteen year old Fliaan who had only just begun to hunt on his own last season.

It was mind-boggling. He looked back at the writing desk and at the row of tiny journals there. While the one he was holding was about fifteen years old, the one at the very end of the journal line was only five or so years on. It had a scrap of paper with beginning date of a January some five years ago pasted onto it, but there was no end date. Teryn carefully set the first black journal back, then reached for the last one…then stopped.

Did he really want to know how it ended? He had a ten year story to read.

So he picked up the one that started with a _June '49_ date instead.


	11. Journal 11

June 13, 1949

Elphaba fell asleep early tonight so that is giving me a little time to journal without interruption. (She has taken to distracting me before bed, and we end up otherwise engaged, and then I fall asleep…so I'm forced to journal the next day in the midafternoon after morning chores.)

We had to go to town so I could get a new one—scribbling soothes me, for some reason. I know not if anybody will ever read these—I can hope they might be published posthumously— but it is good to know that even when I am out here all alone with just Elphaba and Killyjoy that I can have my words be heard.

Elphaba thinks my journaling is amusing and likes to tease me about it. She says that for someone who has grown up so much I still blather on about the inanities, just like I did at Shiz.

Well I take comfort in the inanities of life! Even if they bore some people.

**June 14, 1949**

Elphaba has finally gotten to work on the root cellar, but something is very wrong. She has been short to me all day, snapping when I try to bring her milk or food. She went to bed without supper, only stopping to strip her dirty clothes. I'm really worried about her but she won't tell me what it wrong.

**June 16, 1949**

Elphaba broke yesterday. It was around lunch and I thought I would try to get her to eat something—she had been up before the sun and out there with a shovel, digging, of course not eating anything. So when lunch time came around I toasted some bread, slathered it with goat cheese, and got her some milk…

She yelled at me to just let her dig her grave in peace.

I didn't know what she was talking about, but she sure did, as she suddenly realized what she had said and grit her teeth, getting that stubborn look that she gets when she doesn't want to tell anything more. She stopped digging and stormed back inside, scaring both Killyjoy and myself.

It's been a long time since I've seen her look so angry—and so scared.

I followed her in. She was sitting at the table, head in her hands, shaking. I set her food on the table and sat next to her…put my hand on her knee, tried to be there for her. I asked her what was wrong but it was a long time before she told me.

I sort of wish she hadn't.

Before she only told me snippets of what went on while she was on the run. I knew for a while she had joined bandits in part of her globetrotting, but until now I did not know they had discovered her true identity…and tried to kill her. They made her dig her own grave, and just as they were about to put a bullet through her head…her magic intervened.

She passed up from it but when she woke up everyone that had been standing around her waiting for her execution was dead.

The digging had reminded her of when she had to dig her grave.

Oh, Elphie…

Normally Elphaba does not get sentimental or clingy, but after her tale she pulled her out of my chair and into her lap. She pulled my hair out of its kerchief and her crooked nose buried there for a long time. I wrapped my arms round her and held her close, stroking my thumb against the back of her neck. "I'm here," I said. I must have whispered it a thousand times in a thousand places on the green skin of her neck.

Finally she took her nose out of my hair, instead kissing my neck and pulling me closer by my hips. As much as I loved that, I knew exactly where it would lead, so I stopped her. She looked put out, so I softened and told her that if she ate lunch we could make love.

Elphaba grumbled, but it worked. She ate….and afterwards made the sweetest love to me I've had since our first time back at Shiz.

**June 17, 1949**

Thankfully the cellar is almost done. Elphaba is doing better, I suppose. She has taken the day off from digging to instead go get rocks to line the walls with. Killyjoy has, of course, been following her diligently since her return. She came home to eat lunch and we decided to take it outside. We sat in the grass with our bread and goat cheese…she let me sit in her lap. Killyjoy sat next to us and we pet him as we ate. Eventually he got distracted and went off to chase butterflies and we basked in the sun and each other.

Now she is off getting more rocks. There is a small mountain growing out behind the house.

**June 18, 1949**

Elphaba finished up digging the cellar hole today and is now in the process of lining the walls with rocks to keep them from crumbling. I think she is also using a little bit of magic, too.

I spent the afternoon cutting grass to dry for hay. We've almost run out of bedding straw—we'll have to buy or trade for some in town since we don't have the right set up (according to Elphie) to produce straw. At least we have plenty of hay!

**June 19, 1949**

Elphaba finished the walls and fashioned some stairs, which she added rocks to as well. Now she has started weaving a complex mat of grass, leaves, sticks, and bigger branches. Apparently this is going to be the roof of the roof cellar.

I am going to head in to town tomorrow to see about getting straw.

**June 20, 1949**

The trip to town is pushed back until tomorrow because the windows came today!

They are already pre-panned and Elphaba took a break from her cellar work to put them in. They are so beautiful! There are two one for the south wall and one for the west. They cost us a pretty penny… but now we have windows!

We used magic to protect them, just in case something happens to make them shatter. Elphaba did most of the lifting and the magic, so she actually is taking a nap right now. She never takes naps, but I think the combination of physical labor and excessive use of magic wore her out.

I might join her. A midday nap with her is a rare opportunity I do not wish to miss out on.


	12. Journal 12

**June 22, 1949**

I went into town this morning while Elphaba remained to finish the cellar. Killyjoy came with me. I brought cheese and some coinage to barter with. Eventually I found a farmer on the other end of the valley who was willing to give us his extra straw for ten jars of goat cheese—I only had four with me, but I told him if he delivered the straw to us he would get the remaining jars. He will deliver it in a month on his next trip into town—he drives by our house on his way down the valley into town.

I bought more jars so that when I went home I could begin the process of making more goat cheese. With some of the spare coins I indulged in a meat pie from a vendor in town. It was delicious! I have not had any meat besides fish since I left the Emerald City—it was quite the treat!

**June 23, 1949**

Elphaba finished the cellar this morning! She spent the afternoon finding acorns so she could replace the trees she cut down—I started transferring some of the herbs that were hanging from the ceiling onto the beams. After I went to milk the goat for more milk to make cheese with.

**June 26, 1949**

There has been very little to write about the past few days. Elphaba is taking a break from working on the house. She has been out collected wild plants and bringing them home, as well as sketching!

I did not know until recently that she had a travel journal—she has not written in it since we bumped into each other in the Emerald City, or so she says. She won't let me look, but she says it is full of interesting observations and knowledge gained from her travels, as well as sketches of edible plants and animals.

She has been scribbling the past few days—and she chastised me for writing in this journal! She's been documenting a lot of her finds…I wish she would let me read the Ozdamned thing, but she doesn't read mine, so I will let her have her privacy.

**June 27, 1949**

Elphaba is back at it again. She is off to terrorize the bees—she wants to inspect the apiary she built and see if there is any honey. I think she has plans to build another one.

I collected extra vegetables from the garden and startled pickling them. They'll go in jars later tonight after dinner. I want fresh fish, so I think I'm going to go fishing later today.

I can't believe it is almost July!

**June 28, 1949**

There was honey! Ephaba collected some—she wants to go to town to get a big jar for wax. She has plans for something but won't tell me what! I want her to go to town to get materials so we can finally whitewash the downstairs!

**June 30, 1949**

Elphaba is in town and I am about to make goat cheese. I saw no reason to go with her—she can handle herself, and I had things to do. Besides, I went by myself last time!

**July 1, 1949**

Oz, my wife sometimes!

She went to town to get the supplies and came back with them—and a kitten!

She had gone into the general store and the owner had a box of them. Some farmer had come in and asked him to get rid of them. I am certain she got the only one remaining, because if there had been more I am certain she would have brought them all.

She—the kitten—(for it is a little girl) is all black and fuzzy and has blue eyes… Elphaba assures me they are only her kitten eyes and will change colors soon. She thinks she is about nine weeks old.

Elphaba adores her and has been helping her drink goat milk and letting her climb all over and perch on her shoulder. Killyjoy is not quite sure what to do this this strange invader into our home. I think she is very cute, but I am a bit miffed that Elphaba brought her home without asking.

We have yet to name her, but Elphaba is currently making her a nest in our bed out of a shirt as we speak, so she in undoubtable here to stay.

**July 3, 1949**

Elphaba has decided to name the kitten Ozraindra—Rain for short.

I think we have a theme for all black animals. I noticed it when we took Rain and Killyjoy out front and let them wander in the grass—two black smudges against the golden grass. They are very sweet together and I have grown to adore Rain in the three short days we have had her. She purrs like a little motorboat and curls up with me whenever I have a bit of a lay down.

I am happy to report that I am having to rest less and less now—all the work in the yard and the garden is making me stronger!

**July 5, 1949**

It has rained all day today. We made a day of it—we had breakfast, then cleared out the downstairs and whitewashed the walls. Finally, it looks like an actual sitting room!

Elphaba found the time to whittle a bit. She sat with a kindling branch and her knife for the better part of an hour and made a cute little cat figurine—it is displayed with my little fairy furniture.

We have decided the downstairs needs some sort of shelving. Now that we are settled, Elphaba wants books, and with books comes a place to put them. I need a place to store my writing supplies and my journals. One of the only things I miss from the palace besides my books is my writing desk—it was so beautiful and so useful.

I also sort of miss having an actual bath, but I have grown accustomed to bathing in the lake. I do wonder how I will bathe in the winter though…I don't think I could not bath for months on end.

**July 6, 1949**

We pulled the yummiest tomatoes out of the garden today! Much better than anything I ever had in the Emerald City! Neither Rain or Killyjoy thought much of them, but both Elphaba and I thought they were divine!

There is a word I have not used in a long time…

**July 8, 1949**

I caught Elphaba in the pickling jars this afternoon, eating from one of the jars of pickled cucumbers! She was very bashful about it, but it reminded me of when we were young. I have forgotten how much she liked pickles at Shiz. I remember being disgusted at how she drank the pickle juice.

I will have to be sure to pickle extra cucumbers for her for the winter months. She does love them so.

**July 11, 1949**

Another rain day. We had nothing really to do all day—Elphaba couldn't go out and I couldn't bring anything in because of the water. We spent a lazy morning in bed, but by afternoon Elphaba was getting antsy.

She actually started doing pushups in the main room downstairs she had so much energy to burn!

I dragged her to bed for some other sort of exercise—and after we had lunch. Then I went out, got a few spare feathers from the chicken coop, and with some string and a stick we made a toy for Rain. She loves it, and Elphaba loves playing with her.

Nothing makes Elphaba smile—except animals, apparently. I have not seen her smile so wide as when Rain caught the feathers in mid-air. She was so proud, almost as if she had given birth to Rain herself.

She is so silly, but I love her so.


	13. Journal 13

**July 12, 1949**

The rain has made the garden and the poppies by the field explode! Elphaba reports that the bees are busier than ever, between our garden and the poppies. She was inspired to build another apiary so she was down by the lake most of the day. I took care of most of her house chores so she could do that.

We are very low on straw for bedding now… Elphaba says when the poppies die for the winter we can use them, but for now, we have to wait for our "shipment".

**July 16, 1949**

The straw man came today! Thank Oz Elphaba was out cutting wood for bookshelves because I am sure she might have lost her mind in paranoia. I helped him get the hay into the spare cubicle and gave him his six jars of goat cheese. He asked me if I had anything to get in town and I said that I didn't, but I might take him up on it in the future.

He says when he has extra straw in October or November he will bring some 'round for us to use. When I told him about our plans for the poppies, he said would even loan us a wagon to help us get everything up to our house for the winter.

What a nice man! I think we might take him up on his offer. It is great to have such nice neighbors!

**July 17, 1949**

A new hive has already moved into the secondary apiary. Elphaba is ecstatic!

Speaking of Elphaba, she has been working on bookshelves for the main room. She actually had to fly into town for sandpaper to smooth them today. They look very nice and she is very proud of them. She has gotten very good at wood work! After she is done smoothing everything down we will start using them for storage and such until we can get enough books to fill them.

**July 18, 1949**

The bookshelves are finished! They look great! I wish I had my architecture books to fill them… something else I miss from the Palace…

**July 23, 1949**

There has been very little to report on recently. Does this mean we are finally settling in to our new life? It has just been the usual chores…not much exciting things going on, besides the fact it is getting rather hot and it thunderstorms at night.

Elphaba hates thunderstorms. Not so much because of the thunder or lightening, but just because they come with rain, which she hates because she cannot get anything done; she has to stay in the house. Thankfully we have yet to have one during the day, but when they come at night they leave water everywhere in the morning and Elphaba has to be careful not to get burned as she does her morning chores.

**July 24, 1949**

I spoke to soon! It rained all day today!

Elphaba is going stir crazy with nothing to do. Well…she doesn't not have stuff to do. She does all of the indoor chores (cooking, cleaning, etc) while I have taken up all of her outdoor chores. But she likes her outdoor time.

Thankfully Rain and Killyjoy have been around to distract her. She has worn Rain to the point of exhaustion with the feather on the string, and she has been teaching Killyjoy all of the tricks that I did not teach him while she was gone.

She also did some whittling. There is a cute little dog with the cat on our mantle now, and she is currently working on what looks like a whistle or a flute.

**July 25, 1949**

More rain all day today. Good for the crops, bad for Elphaba. I came inside from taking care of the stable to find Elphaba doing pushups on the floor of the main room-again! She never has been the sitting down type, my Elphie…

**July 26, 1949**

The rain ended last night; at first light Elphaba was up and going. I did not even get a good morning kiss! I hardboiled her some eggs and peeled them so she could at while she worked—otherwise I will never get food in her today.

I love her very much, but she vexes me so sometimes. At least she has stopped looking like she was wasting away like she did when we found each other in the Emerald City. I don't think Elphaba would ever be fat, no matter how much I feed her—she is far too mobile for that.

Rain singed her whiskers in the fire this morning. That will teach her to snoop where she doesn't belong!


	14. Chapter 14

**Journal 14**

**July 29, 1949**

Today was a nice day, so I packed us up a nice lunch and coaxed Elphaba away from her hives to go on a little walk and picnic. We brought the animals along because Killyjoy will not leave either of our sides for a minute and Rain is far too young to be left alone at home (despite the fact she is growing by the day!). Elphaba has explored around here quite extensively, both before we got here and after, so she took over navigation.

We followed what Elphaba said was a game trail through the forest; Killyjoy ran ahead but Rain was content to sit on Elphaba's shoulders, which is good, because considering how small she is I feared we might lose her in the underbrush. Killyjoy is too big to lose, now— I can't believe he's only four months old!

We walked along this little trail until we came across this clearing. It was a sweet little meadow with pretty flowers—I think it was where Elphaba was leading us. I certainly became enchanted with it and insisted we stop there for lunch. We spread the blanket in the middle and I put Rain in a bubble so she could roam but still be safe.

Elphaba and I ate lunch and watched the animals explore—Killyjoy kept an eye on Rain, which I think was sweet in its own right. With Killyjoy in charge of Rain I got distracted by Elphaba. I undid her hair so I could see it shining in the sunlight (with her grey hairs!) and she eventually got comfortable with her head in my lap. It reminded me of Shiz, when Elphie and our combined friends would have picnics and afterwards Elphaba and I would settle in and watch the boys play disc or ball. I convinced her to rest her head in my lap one day—and even though the boys teased her mercilessly after, whenever we had a picnic afterwards her head would almost always find its way into my lap.

Elphaba never naps, but she might have closed her eyes and dozed a bit today. The warmth of the sunlight, my fingers in her hair…she must have been very comfortable and felt very safe in that clearing to doze like she did. I forget, sometimes, how much she trusts me—we both trust each other, I suppose, more than we've ever trusted anybody else. We understand each other, and although we are far from the perfect couple, the understanding allows us to overcome our squabbles and form a deeper connection.

At Shiz our friends always said that I tamed her, sanded down the rough edges, but I don't think I did. I just think that she realized she didn't have to push me away with acerbity and rancor like she did with all the others… She realized that I wasn't going to hurt her and that she could trust me…

After those initial few weeks at Shiz she's always been the same with me. Even when she came back, rough from hiding, she was much the same as when she left me in the Emerald City. Frankly honest and stubborn as a mule, but always trying to do the right thing. Her awkward smiles and random acts of romanticism still charm me as much as they did at Shiz. The paranoia that has found her since our initial romance might be a symptom of her larger life on the run, but I have learned to understand that, too.

She's had a hard life, my Elphie, and the fact she has retained much of her original character still astounds me. She has all the right to be cross and bitter and angry and paranoid for the rest of her life. But she isn't, and she hasn't. Instead she chose to spirit me away, live the rest of her life with me.

She retained her fondness for me just as much as I did for her. I love her so very much.

**July 30, 1949**

Our wood has started to get low so after doing chores in the morning Elphaba spent most of the afternoon chopping firewood. It was hot today so she had to be careful not to sweat. I helped where I could, mostly carrying the wood away and stacking it. She did teach my how to swing the axe, but I don't have enough body mass to split logs all the way. Elphaba doesn't really have the mass, either, but she has long enough arms that she can get the axe going really fast, which apparently compensates for her lack of mass. I'm not exactly sure how, I never took a Physics class at Shiz or in secondary school. But Elphaba did, so I'm trusting her word on this one!


	15. Journal 15

**Journal 15**

**August 1, 1949**

Elphaba went to go foraging for edibles yesterday and she came back just before dinner with an entire bag full of berries! Her whole foraging bag was full! I couldn't quite believe it! All sorts of berries, too. She says she found an entire swatch of berry bushes covered with them.

Neither of us had planned on making jam, but since a lot of these berries are quite ripe, we knew we were going to have to so they don't spoil. After dinner yesterday I started sorting all of the berries by kind, and Elphaba started whittling. She was hoping that she can trade some of her whittled figures for sugar. If not, we had some extra cheese that I made last week, and we do have money but we don't want to spend it if we don't have to.

Elphaba went to town to get the sugar today (and more jars!) and when she came home we made the jam. (Her whittled figures did alright for trading, for Lurlinemas gifts to sell. It's about that time now where people start thinking about that sort of thing.)

Elphaba knows how to make jam from her childhood, so she taught me. She seems to know how to do _everything!_ It's sort of vexing, to be quite honest. I guess all that reading came in handy!

Anyway, not we have lots of jam of all kinds! We have extra sugar, so Elphaba is going to go back to find more berries if she can. We might be able to sell the jam over the winter to turn a bit of profit.

With all the pickling and preserving coming up for winter, we're going to need a _lot_ more jars!

**August 2, 1949**

Elphaba got more berries yesterday, so we made more jam in the afternoon. We saved some of the berries, though, and ate them for breakfast today.

**August 3, 1949**

Elphaba decided we had enough berries but she still wanted to get edibles, so off she went today. She is trying to get things before they start turning off for the fall—fall here starts at the end of September which means we have got to get hustling!

We have already been pickling cucumbers and some of the root vegetables for winter. I've started drying and salting fish, too. Elphaba won't eat them (the fish, not the pickles), but I sure will!

**August 5, 1949**

With all the hard work we've been doing recently to get ready for Fall (plus taking care of the animals and doing all of our normal chores), Elphaba and I have been too exhausted to do anything but sleep at night. Not that our relationship is purely physical, but I do think I am allowed to want for a little physical attention from my wife.

I suppose sex will have to wait until winter. Goodness knows we'll have time for it, considering how much snow Fliaan is said to get during the winter.

(I'm thankful for mild summers but I'm not so sure about the long winter.)

**August 10, 1959**

We've just been canning so there really has not been much to report until now. Today Elphaba brought home jars of honey from her hives, and beeswax! She says she harvested it now so that all the bees have enough time to get more for the winter.

The honey was so yummy! Elphaba has plans for the wax—candles, I think. She says we need some for the winter months when she will want to read after the sun goes down.

I wonder how I'll whittle away my winter days. Perhaps I should take up knitting again. Oz knows we will need warmer blankets soon!

**August 12, 1949**

Raining again. I told Elphaba about my knitting plans and before I knew it she had whittled knitting needles from kindling sticks in between helping me can the vegetables I was bringing in out of the garden. I would bring them in, dry them, and then she would go through the canning process until they were ready. Then I'd take them out to the cellar.

The rain did not last all day, thankfully, and Elphaba had time to go outside and stretch her legs before dark. She took Killyjoy for a walk, which he seemed to enjoy. He came home with a stick, which he took to bed.


	16. Journal 16

**August 15, 1949**

Elphaba flew to town to get more jars, and she came home with jars, but also the most beautiful yarn I have ever seen! It's wool, dyed a dark midnight blue. It's beautiful, and I think there should be enough for a blanket.

She also bought a bolt of dark fabric in the same color, along with some white fabric, and a case of embroidery floss. I was shocked by it all and asked her what it was for (also, how much did she even spend?!). She replied she had promised the owner of the general store ten whittled figures (including flutes, which seem to be popular for children), two jars of cheese, one of canned tomatoes, one of honey, and one of pickles for the material…because she wants to make a quilt with me!

I was shocked, but happy. Elphaba wants me to embroider the squares, and she will sew them on the blue fabric. She says she is going to make the quilting out of flour bags and then a simple thin layer of the blue…sort of like a shell. She says we don't have enough of the flour bags right now, but by the time we finish stocking up for winter in case we get snowed in, we should have enough to make a quilt.

I'm happy to have a project to do with Elphaba, but I am slightly miffed she signed me up for work. Looks like I'm making more cheese.

**August 17, 1949**

Today we took a break from canning and made cheese. Or rather I took a break from canning to make cheese; Elphaba went to chop wood. After cheese, I made dinner, and after dinner, I knitted. My fingers aren't used to knitting anymore, so I'm having to take it little by little. Hopefully I'll get done before the cooler weather starts moving in!

**August 20, 1949**

I feel like I embody the retired woman stereotype—every night after dinner I'm sitting in a chair by the fire knitting, for Oz's sake!

(Elphaba, who has been whittling for the deal she made with the general store manager, finds my despair at this amusing. She would, the wicked green thing!)

**August 21, 1949**

Elphaba has been doing a lot of wood chopping and kindling collection. She's been disappearing into the woods with the axe and coming back with lots of wood—mostly freshly fallen trees and the like that she has brought back. She's been grumbling about not having enough time.

The blanket is progressing. I try to do two lines a night.

**August 24, 1949**

There is enough wood against the side of the house that it is almost taller than me! Elphaba still says it isn't enough. She would know more than me, I suppose. She started to build a structure by the heap where I have been throwing compostables—I think she intends to build a wood protector.

Blanket is about twenty lines long. I'm probably going to need two hundred or so!

**August 25, 1949**

Best laid plans of mice and men. It is pouring. Elphaba is helping can, although I can tell she would much rather be outside.

**August 27, 1949**

Took a nice walk with Elphaba, Rain, and Killyjoy today after dinner. It was just around the lake but we still had a good time.

**August 30, 1949**

Waking up with a kitten curled up against your stomach and a puppy sprawled on your feet is a wonderful feeling; it's even better when you are in the arms of your wife.


	17. Chapter 17

**September 1, 1949**

It's a beautiful day, and Elphaba finished the wood chopping for the wood shelter yesterday—we should have enough wood to last us through winter.

Now she if off digging in the garden. She wants to make more planter beds so that next year we can not only grow food but also herbs and spices as well. Food that isn't bland would be nice!

**September 3, 1949**

Elphaba is still hard at work on the new planter beds. She had dug six trenches and is off collecting rocks and bringing them back and stacking them snugly together for walls.

I am still canning, but she wants my help tomorrow with the compost heap—something about turning it. She has some wood in the house which she is making what she says will be a pitchfork.

**September 4, 1949**

I think today is the filthiest I have ever been in my life, and the most exhausted. Turning the compost heap meant getting into it with the crude pitchfork she made and tossing all the unrotten stuff to one side and digging out the stuff that had decomposed into soil. Elphaba shoveled the loam into old flour sacks and then hauled them off to sit aside the house so when she is done with the flower beds she can mix the old soil in with the loam and it can settle over the winter.

She also wants me to catch some fish, not only for our stores, but she wants me to collect the guts and bury them in the soil to use as fertilizer. I always thought that was an old wives tale—but apparently not.

I took the longest bath in the lake I have ever taken—I scrubbed myself almost raw. I feel so clean, though!

**September 6, 1949**

Elphaba has three beds done, so I helped her after chores by mixing the old soil and the new compost loam in together. We used a lot of the compost, but Elphaba says when the leaves fall and we tear out the garden, we can put it in one giant heap and in the spring right before we plant we can get more compost out that has decomposed over the winter.

(I'm not looking forward to that!)

**September 10, 1949**

Elphaba's new vegetable and herb beds are done. I went and spent all day catching fish so she could fertilize the garden! We had best have the best garden in all of Fliaan next spring!

Elphaba, meanwhile, dug holes in the new beds for the fish guts and then went foraging. It is going to take me ages tonight to get all these fish cleaned and drying!

**September 11, 1949**

I slept in today because I was up well past dark last night gutting and hanging fish on the dry rack. I think there are almost twenty. Elphaba felt bad, I think, because she helped me with the guts depositing them in the holes (although I think she was suppressing dry heaves most of the time).

On top of it all, Elphaba wants me to do this again for the old beds when we tear everything out of the old beds to put in the compost heap! I never!

**September 13, 1949**

Spent today on the washing-took forever to get the compost dirt out of the flour bags. I had to soak them three times. One last hurrah of yummy washing water for the plants.

**September 14, 1949**

Elphaba went foraging again today and came back with her foraging bag busting with acorns. She actually dropped her bag, grabbed two flour sacks, and left without saying so much as goodbye! She came back around twilight with a flour sack and a half—the half one she filled with to bulging with the acorns from her foraging back.

Tomorrow she is going to show me how to treat acorns so you can eat them—and she is going to make a mortar and pestle so we can start grinding them for flour.

Oz, this woman. I love her sometimes, but she gets these hair-brained ideas into her head and doesn't consult me before doing!

**September 15, 1949**

I now know how to treat acorns to make them edible. You have to shell them, then boil them, then boil them again, and again, and again, and again until they finally aren't bitter and won't make you sick to your stomach. I have been shelling and boiling all day! Elphaba has been carving the mortar and pestle and Rain and Killyjoy….they have been playing with the acorns.

(Elphaba dumped a sack of the acorns shells onto the compost heap. I hope that is good for it.)

**September 16, 1949**

So much is going on, I have so much to write about recently! Who knew fall would be the bulk of our activity? I suspect Spring will be similar.

Elphaba and I did one last check and canning from the garden and then tore out all the plants. Our compost heap is bulging with the carcasses of plants—Elphaba is going to go collect bags of leaves tomorrow (they are starting to fall now!) and bring them to the heap. I will have to mix them.

**September 17, 1949**

I spent my day shelling and peeling acorns—and when I couldn't stand it any longer, I would go help Elphaba with the compost heap until I had to go back inside and dump the water out of the pot and add more water and boil the acorns again.

Our garden looks so strange barren. I already miss salads!

**September 18, 1949**

Elphaba disappeared for most of the day today—she claimed she was foraging but she did not get very much. I think she just had to clear her head and stretch her legs. She gets like that.

She spent all the time before dinner and before we went to bed pounding acorns in the pestle—I am still peeling and boiling, but I'm almost done!

I haven't been working much on the blanket, which I really need to get on, because it is getting colder and the leaves are falling rapidly!

**September 19, 1949**

Today I finished the acorns and to celebrate what did I do? Laundry and goat cheese. It never ends, I swear!

Although now that I finished peeling and boiling the acorns I finally got time to work on the blanket tonight. Elphaba pounded acorns all day and night—we filled a flour sack with it all. One less flour sack for the quilt, but it will extend our flour stores quite a bit. Elphaba says we mix the acorn flour and the flour together and it makes decent bread!

**September 20, 1949**

The old vegetable beds were made of wood and they had rotten pretty completely by the end of the season, so Elphaba tore them apart and is off collecting stones for their walls. I am still waiting on the fish to dry more and have very little to do what with the garden all sorted for now, so I have begun knitting in earnest—I knit most of the day today after chores!

The blanket is actually getting to a decent size, too, which is good, because it is starting to get cold at night. I always hated cuddling with Elphaba in the summer at Shiz because she was a space heater in human form, but now I am very grateful for her warmth!

(Killjoy and Rain also provide fantastic warm spots!)

**September 21, 1949**

Took breaks in between knitting to rest my sore hands. I 'rested' by gathering leaves in the empty flour sacks (will they ever become part of the quilt?) and dumping them over the plant carcasses and acorn peelings in the compost heap area. Elphaba had me dump some water on it, too, between leaf loads—she read about composting back where we were at Shiz and apparently water is vital to the decomposition process.

Speaking of Elphaba, she has been re-building the four beds in stone all day. She has two done, and will finish the next two tomorrow. Which means soon I will have to go fishing.

**September 24, 1949**

All of the 22nd was spent knitting—I'm almost done with the blanket! (It hurt too much to even try to write, though, so I didn't.) Elphaba finished the beds, though, so all of yesterday, the 23rd, was spent fishing and gutting and drying and burying fish guts.

Today, as I write this, Elphaba is off gathering again—one last hurrah of gathering, I suppose.

**September 25, 1949**

The blanket is done! Elphaba likes it, and it is very cozy. We slept with it last night and it made a big difference!

**September 26, 1949**

Elphaba is growing restless again. These past twenty years have given her a horrible case of wanderlust. I am not about to move for anything, but I think Elphaba wants to go on an adventure. She wants to feel the wind in her hair and the clouds under her feet, but gets very little of that here. Now that most of the prep for winter is done, our life on this little Fliaan farm is honestly almost boring. I commiserate with her, but she is getting tetchy from feeling cooped up, and I can't abide by that for very long. I do not like it when my wife gets grouchy—well, grouchier than normal.

**September 29, 1949**

Elphaba and I had a long talk and we decided it would be best for both of us if she went off for a bit. We spent the day in bed together, had dinner, then packed her bag in the twilight. She departed probably about thirty minutes ago—she said she'll be back in a week or two. Promises me she will bring me something back special.

Gifts aside… Oz, what will I do without her for two entire weeks?


End file.
